Let's highlight the central themes of zombie mode. Progress is centered around a cycle of the following:

earning money from killing Zombies,

reconstructing barriers to control the movement of Zombies,

and reviving downed allies.

The money you earn from performing these actions are used to purchase weapons and unlocking locked areas of the map.

This entire process repeats infinitely until you perish, essentially making Zombies Mode an endurance test. It sounds simple on paper, but it's both hard and thrilling at the same time!

Cap Zombies, Get Paid!

The first pillar of our Survival Guide's strategies goes over maximizing your profits from cappin' Zombies.

The first few waves are critical for amassing that initial capital, with which you'll later use to invest in unlocking specific areas and acquiring certain weapons. It'd be lame, and not to mention unwise, to blow your meager starting money on a crappy weapon right away and waste precious ammo on these weakling Zombies.

No! Don't be that bozo. Instead, for the first three rounds, do the following:

IGN Strategy » Early Pay-Out

To quickly accumulate plenty of cash early on, shoot a Zombie's chest (and the chest only) with four to five bullets from your pistol before killing it with your knife. This nets you the maximum amount of money for a single zombie, and the zombies in the first three waves are weak enough to let you use this approach.

Depending on how many people you're playing with, assign each player to a window and enforce the rule of no kill-sniping unless absolutely necessary.

While following this strategy, let Zombies run free in the building, where you can then down them and hope they drop a Max Ammo power-up.

Don't ever pick up a power-up that looks like a bomb if you're trying to make mad money! That item will destroy all the enemies on the map and likely start the next wave.

If you run out of ammo and don't see replenishment, carefully slash the Zombies to death instead with your knife.

Another way to build money includes hammering boards to vulnerable entryways (these could be windows or doors) from which Zombies can enter.

Got Paid, Now What?

You've done well making mad stacks, but you'll need to spend wisely. Zombies get incrementally stronger, faster, and more numerous with each successive round. By the fourth round, you should be thinking about an exit strategy.

Start unlocking areas, communicating who will be spending what to unlock which, and arm yourselves with better weapons. Turning on the power gets priority for gaining access to perks, mystery boxes, traps, etc.

IGN Strategy » Weapon Lottery

Weapons abound, but specifically you want to gun for the mystery box that randomly spits out a weapon for a price. You don't always get an awesome weapon, but the Ray Gun is one that's definitely slathered in extra awesome sauce.

If you don't have one already, get a powerful weapon, like a Commando rifle , stat! The Ray gun is doubly awesome, but keep in mind you get fewer points for each kill. Keep cycling through the mystery box as much as you can afford to until you get something you're happy with.

Survival of the Fittest

Darwinian theory never considered the Nazi Zombie to be part of the evolution model, but that doesn't mean you don't stand a chance against the horde! Here's what to do:

It goes without saying (we will anyway), but control your shots in small bursts and train them on the head! We suspect that the damage animation makes Zombies invulnerable between the microseconds of uncontrolled gunfire.

The maps in Black Ops' Zombies are fairly big. You'll probably benefit greatly from first familiarizing yourself with the general layout, figuring out where the mystery box and good choke points are.

IGN Strategy » Best Weapons

The best weapons would be: Commando rifle, Predator (upgraded Commando), Lemantation (upgraded Galil), Thunder gun (Kino der Toten map only), Ray gun, HK21 -- this is not a definitive list, but you get the idea!

The Zombies are relentless, but they can't keep coming without all the Zombies from the current round dying first. For this reason, leave a lone Zombie with his legs amputated by grenades to crawl around during each round so you can rebuild, make money, revive teammates, scratch your nose, or whatever.

Why? Because a lone Zombie can and will go all feral on your ass when you least expect it. If you want to avoid this concern altogether, keep two Zombies alive, if you can handle them.

IGN Strategy » Good Upgrades

Upgrade your weapons by purchasing a Pack-a-Punch (PAP, for short) upgrade. Access to this machine is possible after turning on the power on most maps.

In the initial few waves, you'll be fending off only myriads of hungry Nazi Zombies, but you'll start to see intermittent rounds entirely comprised of fiery hellhounds , usually beginning at wave 5 and beyond. You'll also face crawling gas Zombies, who leave behind a lingering poison cloud, making them a bit of a tactical wildcard.

Remember that Zombies can follow you through teleporters. Players should also use them one at a time because if you all get too eager, you'll be digging your own grave.

Lean On Me

The final pillar of our Zombie Mode Survival Guide's strategies is perhaps variably important. Some people play better alone, but good teamwork greatly improves the odds of survival. Besides, everybody needs somebody to lean on.

Delayed or stupid actions have led to the untimely demise of many a teammate, an unfortunately common scenario that conveniently segues into the best piece of advice: Communicate! Communicate often about what you're doing, what you're wearing (probably not that), and where you are. Watch your teammate's back!

IGN Strategy » Planning Player Revivals

If you're about to grab a power-up, make sure teammates that can be revived are revived before doing so. Otherwise, you're just a jerk.

At the other end of the spectrum, if a teammate next to you is downed, make sure you survive before attempting to return him from the brink. Chances are you won't be able to successfully revive him before you yourself are swarmed!

However, if you have a teammate with a Ray gun or insanely wicked shot, use him to cover you while you revive a fallen teammate. In fact, a better strategy would be to use the upgraded Ballistic Knife (The Krause Refibrillator) on the downed teammate to instantly revive him. Of course, this working is contingent on whether you have it to begin with.

Combine the Thunder gun or something of similar caliber with Speed Cola for optimum Zombie-pwnage!